HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Coker College senior Kelley Godbout and junior Deion Craig have been named as nominees for the 2015 Allstate Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works Teams.
Godbout, a four-year senior on the women’s basketball team from Charlotte, N.C., is one of the Cobra leaders both on and off the court. Through five games Godbout is averaging 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, which is good enough for second on the team in both categories.
Considered by many to be a complete student-athlete, Godbout is a Coker Ambassador, a biology research intern and a member of the Coker student-athlete advisory committee. She will graduate in May with a bachelor of arts in biology and she plans on attending graduate school.
Craig is a junior transfer from Augusta, Ga. on the men’s basketball team. He has played in four games so far this season, averaging 0.8 points and 0.5 rebounds per game.
In addition to his play on the court, Craig is a member of the Coker student-athlete advisory committee and he was one of the founding members of the Cobra/Tiger Lunchtime Connection between Thornwell Elementary School and the Coker student-athlete advisory committee, an initiative to increase interaction between Coker student-athletes and local youth in need of mentors.
Both Godbout and Craig join three other South Atlantic Conference nominees. On the women’s side Jai Jai McLaughlin of Carson –Newman and Jasmine DeBerry from Wingate, and on the men’s side Myson Jones of Anderson.
For the third year, the Allstate WBCA and NABC Good Works Teams® help spotlight the off-the-court good works and service to others that often goes unnoticed and unrewarded. From creating organizations benefitting at-risk youth to volunteering overseas to help impoverished communities, there are countless remarkable stories of service among this year’s group of nominees. As full-time students and athletes, these players choose to dedicate their limited free time to improving the lives of those around them.
The Allstate Good Works teams are selected by college sports information directors and basketball coaches from across the country that exhibit exceptional leadership skills and an unwavering commitment to volunteerism. From the 93 WBCA nominees and 158 NABC nominees, distinguished voting panels will select two 10-member teams comprised of five student-athletes from the NCAA® Division I level and five student-athletes from NCAA Divisions II, III and the NAIA. The final roster of 20 award recipients will be unveiled in February.
About the Women’s Basketball Coaches
Association
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association
promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to
develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and
promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls.
For more information on the WBCA, please visit www.wbca.org.
About the National Association of Basketball
Coaches
Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the NABC was founded in 1927 by
Forrest “Phog” Allen, the legendary basketball coach at
the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the
inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective
group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has
nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college
men’s basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are
expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game
by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of
basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic
lives of today’s student-athletes. The four core values of
being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and
education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and
membership, can be found at www.nabc.org.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and
universities committed to supporting academic and athletic
opportunities for more than 460,000 student-athletes at more than
1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000
student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II
and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more
details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate
partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.
About Allstate®
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation’s largest
publicly held personal lines insurer, protecting approximately 16
million households from life’s uncertainties through its
Allstate, Encompass, Esurance and Answer Financial brand names and
Allstate Financial business segment. Allstate is widely known
through the slogan “You’re In Good Hands With
Allstate®.” The Allstate brand’s network of small
businesses offers auto, home, life and retirement products and
services to customers in the United States and Canada. In 2013, The
Allstate Foundation, Allstate, its employees and agency owners gave
$29 million to support local communities. Allstate employees and
agency owners donated 200,000 hours of service across the
country.